Weeks ago, we learned that Janet Yellen, Biden’s pick to head the Treasury Department, plans to use her position to advance social justice.
Now we are finding out that she made millions giving speeches to Wall Street firms and big tech outfits like Google after leaving the Fed. There’s something awfully familiar about all of this.
The Associated Press reports, via Market Watch:
Yellen, Biden’s pick to head Treasury, discloses millions in income from Wall Street speeches after Fed termPresident-elect Joe Biden’s choice to be treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, collected more than $7 million in speaking fees in 2019 and 2020 from major financial firms and tech giants including Citi C, -2.47%, Goldman Sachs GS, +0.49% and Alphabet GOOG, -1.35% GOOGL, -1.51% unit Google, according to disclosure forms filed as part of her nomination.Yellen’s was one of three financial disclosures filed by Biden transition officials that were made public on Thursday by the Office of Government Ethics. In a separate filing, Yellen listed firms and banks where she had received speaking fees and said she intended to “seek written authorization” from ethics officials to “participate personally and substantially” in matters involving them.Yellen was the Federal Reserve chairwoman from 2014 to 2018. Her term was not renewed by President Donald Trump…But receiving steep payments from Wall Street bankers and other powerful corporations could become an issue as her nomination works its way through a closely divided and potentially contentious Senate. Hillary Clinton faced criticism from the left wing of the Democratic Party while running for president in 2016 for having received past, lucrative speaking fees at Wall Street firms.
Joe Biden’s team is trying to spin this as a positive thing.
Evie Forham reports at the FOX Business Network:
Biden team defends Yellen making millions in speaking fees from big corporationsThe Biden team responded this weekend to criticism of President-elect Joe Biden’s treasury secretary pick Janet Yellen after it was revealed she raked in more than $7 million as a speaker from Wall Street firms and other corporations after leaving the Federal Reserve in 2018.”Janet Yellen is among the pre-eminent economic policymakers in the world today. Since leaving the Fed after several decades in public service, she has spoken at economic conferences, universities and to business groups and financial institutions about her experiences … Her experience and expertise are the reasons President-elect Biden wanted her on his team working for him and on behalf of the American people to help us build back better from this economic crisis,” a Biden transition team spokesperson said in a statement.
Other Democrats are playing the woman card.
Is anyone in media going to ask Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren for comment on this?
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